It has conventionally been known that carbon dioxide (carbonic acid anhydride: CO2, called as “carbon dioxide” hereafter) has both properties of being not only soluble in water (water-soluble) but also soluble in fat (fat-soluble) and if, therefore, only contacting the skin or mucous membrane of the living-body being as mixed with water and fat, carbon dioxide penetrates under a subcutaneous layer and expands blood vessels around penetrated carbon dioxide, and it works to improve a blood circulation. Owing to this action of accelerating the blood circulation, it displays various physiological effects such as dropping of blood pressure, improving of metabolism or accelerating to remove pain substance or waste product. Further, it has also anti-inflammation and anti-bacterial. Therefore, carbon dioxide has recently been given attention also from viewpoints of improving health or beauty other than the purpose of medical cares.
Carbon dioxide in the tissue of the living-body works to release oxygen carried in combination with hemoglobin in a red blood cell. Around parts at a high density of carbon dioxide, the red blood cell releases more oxygen. Thus, supply of oxygen to cells by the red blood cell is mainly controlled by carbon dioxide. In short, being without carbon dioxide, hemoglobin remains as combined with oxygen and the cell becomes unable to receive oxygen. As is seen, carbon dioxide is seen as a waste product resulted from action of oxygen, however, it plays in fact very important roles in the human living-body.
Further, in recent times, oxygen of high density has also widely been known as effective in activity of metabolism, fatigue recovery, stability of blood pressure and others.
As techniques of causing the living-body to absorb carbon dioxide at the comparatively narrow limited parts thereof, there have been disclosed as following.
(1) A device, which attaches a closing simple cover to the limited part of a human body and introduces carbon dioxide into the cover for carrying out the carbon dioxide bath (refer to, for example, Patent Document 1).
(2) A device, which inserts the limited part of the human body into the closing container (otherwise, attaching the container to the limited part of the human body) and introduces carbon dioxide into the container for carrying out the carbon dioxide bath (refer to, for example, Patent Document 2).(3) A device, which attaches to the limited part of the human body a sealing and surrounding material composed of a container having an opening such as a bag body or a tubular body, seals an absorbing assistant material of helping skin-passing absorption of carbon dioxide in order to close the interior of the sealing and surrounding material, and introducing carbon dioxide thereinto for carrying out the carbon dioxide bath by (refer to, for example, Patent Document 3).
There have been proposed by present inventors the carbon dioxide pressure bath devices which are furnished with at least gas mist generating means, pressure means, and coating members of one or two layer structures for covering the skin or mucous membrane of the living-body and for causing carbon dioxide to contact the skin or mucous membrane at pressure more than a predetermined value.